Chapter Thirty-Two

Larissa

I pulled my hair back into a low ponytail, then glanced in the full-length mirror. I wore a form-fitting, black bodysuit that hugged every curve and left little to the imagination. I could move freely, though. The black sneakers were the same ones I had when Amon sent me out to kill one of the brothers. They were lightweight and gripped most surfaces.

Amon had spared no expense on clothes if it would help me kill one of the brothers. Now, I would use it against him.

I strapped my waist belt on, then checked the knife in the leather sheathe. It was razor-sharp. I closed my eyes and fantasized about what it would feel like to slice across Amon's throat. Anger and bitterness swirled inside me. I opened my eyes and pressed my lips together. Tonight, I would have my revenge against the man who stole so much from me.

I fastened the knife back in. On the opposite side was a loaded gun. I pulled it out of the holster, double-checked it, then secured it again. I reached for the black ski cap off the dresser and grabbed my bow and quiver of arrows. I was as ready as I would ever be.

Excitement flowed through my veins. I wanted this to end tonight, but I also wanted Amon to suffer before he died. I wanted him to taste some of what I'd gone through. If I could lock him in a cage, I would, but prison would be too good for him. The prison system had gotten too soft on criminals. No, I wanted him to die a slow and painful death.

He fucking stole five years of my life! I was out for blood!

I drew in a deep breath, then exhaled. I had to rein in my emotions and not let them control me. I was calmer when I left my bedroom and started down the stairs.

I guessed the brothers would be in the den. I was right. They were going over the plan again but looked up when I entered the room.

Nothing stirred. I could've heard a pin drop.

They kept staring at me.

Had I forgotten something?

"What?" I finally asked.

"I have the strongest urge to fuck you right now," Ezra said.

"Nope, I'm next," Caspian said.

Ezra frowned. "You've both had Rissa all night. We only made love in the gym."

"Your problem, not mine," Caspian argued.

"If I'm not mistaken, I think we're going to kill Amon tonight. The last thing the three of you should be thinking about is having sex." Dammed if I wasn't thinking the same thing right now. They could be very distracting.

"She's right. If we don't keep our mind on the game, it could get us all killed." Jude looked around the room, including me in his reprimand. Dammit, I wish he didn't know what I was thinking all the time. Since I came back into their lives, I hadn't been able to school my expression nearly as well.

I set my bow and quiver of arrows by the door, moving farther into the room as we all got back to the business at hand. We went over the plan one more time, and then we left. We would get as close to the back side of the property as we could, then go from there on foot. I had already vetoed the idea of going in twos. I knew what they were trying to do: keep me safe. That wasn't going to cut it.

There were ten mercenaries, and we needed to quietly eliminate them so they couldn't alert the others. The only way to do that was if we split up. We could take them out of commission faster by separating.

Ezra pulled the car off the road when we were close enough, and we all got out. Trees surrounded the property, giving us plenty of cover, but it also gave them cover. We split up and began moving forward, making sure our earpieces and night goggles worked. They did. We could hear each other and see where we were going.

When I spotted the first mercenary, I quickly moved behind a tree and quietly pulled my bow out, fastening the arrow in. I gripped the bow, keeping my arm straight, and slowly pulled it back. I held my breath, then released it.

The arrow whistled silently through the air. The man dropped with a thud. I didn't need to stop to check if he was still breathing. I knew he wasn't, or at least he wouldn't be for very long. It had been a deadly shot.

I whispered into the mouthpiece, "One down."

"Make that two," Caspian said.

"Three total," Jude said.

"Two more down," Ezra said.

One eyebrow rose. "Okay, I'm impressed." I smiled as I continued forward.

I took out another man by the time I reached the edge of the woods, and we converged together once again. We had taken out a total of seven. That left three, plus Arnie and Bernard.

This would be the hardest part. We had to know where the whereabouts of the other guards. I glanced around and found the tallest tree. "Did anyone bring a pair of binoculars?"

Caspian handed me his. They were small and, when folded, were very compact. I put them in my pocket before going to the tree, jumping up. I grabbing the lowest limb and began to pull myself up. It only took me a few minutes to reach the highest limb that I knew would hold my weight. I slowly scanned the area with the binoculars, spotting the three men.

I touched the mouthpiece and began to talk. "There are two mercenaries, one at each corner of the house. Arnie is on the patio close to the back door, about the middle of the house. I'm assuming Bernard is inside, and the other mercenary is at the front," I told them. I secured the binoculars and dropped from limb to limb until I landed on the ground. As I straightened, I saw they were staring at me again.

"What?"

Caspian began shaking his head. "I don't think I'll ever get used to you being this athletic or this dangerous."

I only smiled as I walked closer and caressed his face. "You know, we can use my abilities in other ways as well."

"What do you mean?" Ezra looked confused.

Jude punched him on the arm. "She's talking about sex."

He really needed to stop reading my thoughts, but we both grinned.

"We have more to think about than sex right now," Caspian said in a stern voice, but he grabbed my hand and turned it over, palm up. His lips were warm against my skin, but when he ran his tongue over the flesh, fire shot through me.

"I was only trying to lighten the mood," I said with a sigh. "Did it work?"

I saw the passion in his eyes. "Probably not."

He stepped closer whenever I moved away, then lightly slapped my ass. Heat spread down to my pussy.

"Bad girls get spanked."

"I'll have to remember that because I can be very, very bad."

"Fuck, I've got a killer hard-on right now," Ezra complained, and we chuckled.

"Let's go get this bastard," I said.

We quickly sobered and started forward. This was it.

There was only a sliver of moon as we moved forward. The goggles helped us see where we were going without making enough noise to alert anyone. When we were near enough, I pulled out an arrow. I waited as Arnie ambled forward. I wanted him a little closer.

My vision suddenly clouded as memories swept in.

"Stupid, bitch." Arnie grabbed my chin and jerked me closer.

His foul breath filled my space. I thought I would be sick, but I kept swallowing until I forced the bile to stay down. If I puked, it would get a lot worse for me.

"If you don't start learning quicker, the boss will rip you apart and send you piece by piece back to the brothers. Do you fucking understand?"

"Yes," I trembled from head to foot.

He grinned, showing his rotten teeth. "But first, I'm going to fuck you, and I'll make you suck my cock before he kills you. I've been wanting some of that sweet pussy for a long time. I'll have you crying out my name right before I put a bullet in your brain."

He reached down and grabbed me. I cried out as he squeezed my breast.

He stepped back quick enough when Amon came into the room. I looked down, blinking back the tears that stung my eyes.

Yeah, you son of a bitch, you'll never hurt me, or any other woman, again. I followed Arnie with my bow until he stepped off the patio. Only then did I release it. It hit center mass, and he dropped down to his knees, grabbing at the arrow protruding from his chest. His eyes were wide with fear right before he toppled over.

I raised my chin. "That was for all the times you hurt me, you son of a bitch. Enjoy Hell," I muttered.

I looked at Jude. He was watching me closely.

"Are you okay? I thought I'd lost you for a moment."

I shook my head. "I'm fine. I was reliving memories. Those memories are dead now."

He nodded and started moving forward.

Ezra and Caspian took care of the two mercenaries at each end of the house. They would also take out the man at the front. They would enter through the front, while Jude and I would enter through the back, so there was less chance for them to escape.

There were only two men left.

The door was locked, but we expected that. Amon would want to feel safe. Except he wasn't. Jude quickly picked the lock, and we slipped inside. Amon was talking to Bernard in the other room—more like yelling at him.

"Why aren't they answering the radio? I paid them good money to protect me!"

"She's here," Bernard said, voice trembling. "The brothers are probably with her. They must've killed the mercenaries and Arnie. I'm not sticking around and waiting for them to put a bullet in me. I'm out of here."

"You work for me!"

"Not anymore, you bastard, I quit."

Bernard started out of the room as we were coming in. As soon as he spotted us, he began to back up, rejoining Amon.

"Hello, Amon," I glanced toward him.

"Larissa, you're making a mistake. I'm the one who helped you." Amon slammed his hand down on the desk.

"Hey, I was only doing what he ordered me to do." Bernard held up his hands.

I ignored Amon for the moment and slowly pulled an arrow out and fastened it in. As I pulled back, I remembered the times he'd pressed up against me, squeezing my breasts painfully until I would cry out. I remembered the look of lust in his eyes and the things he would say to me. Things that he was going to do. I remembered him using me as a punching bag.

"This one is for all the times you hurt me." I let the arrow fly.

He screamed when it embedded in his shoulder.

I pulled another one out. "And this one is for Gina." I let it fly, and it embedded in his other shoulder.

He fell to his knees, tears running down his face. "Stop this! Stop it right now! I told you that I only work for him. He ordered me to do everything that I did to you. It wasn't my fault."

I saw Amon easing toward the door from the corner of my eye. I glanced at Jude, who was pointing his gun at him.

"I don't think you should move any farther unless you want a bullet in your good leg," Jude told him, and Amon stopped.

Amon's lips pressed into a fine line and his face was red with fury, but deep down, he was a coward. I knew he wouldn't move another muscle. The bastard probably didn't realize he was about to die. People like him never did. I turned my attention back to Bernard.

"You enjoyed every second you were hurting me," I continued. This one's for all the things you said you were going to do to me." Without hesitating, I put another arrow in, pulled the string, then released it. It landed right between his legs.

"You fucking shot my cock!" He began to scream and slobber in pain.

"Not bad shooting for such a small target, wouldn't you say?" I asked.

Jude snickered next to me.

I glanced at Amon. "You wanted to know if I could kill someone. You trained me well, but the tables turned. You see, you might've had me believing you for a short minute, but there has always been an unbreakable bond between me and the Morelli brothers that you could never understand.

I turned back to Bernard, who was still moaning and groaning. The next arrow landed right where his heart should've been if he had had one. He fell over with one last gurgle, then silence.

I turned toward Amon. Caspian and Ezra stood behind us.

He leaned heavily on his cane. "So, you're going to kill me. Go ahead. Put me out of my misery. You'll only be doing me a favor. You don't know what it's fucking like to be in this body. To be a fucking cripple! They did this to me, and don't you ever forget it. They're the monsters. I tried to help you."

He screamed when the first arrow hit his bad leg.

"End it and be done!"

I moved in closer. "You stole five years of my life. This will not be quick. He pulled out a drawer. Before he could get the gun that was inside, I put an arrow through his hand. He screamed again and fell back into the chair.

"You're going to rot in Hell for what you're doing."

"But you'll be there first."

I tossed down my bow and moved forward as I pulled my knife out of the sheath on my belt. It was just me and Amon. Like a huntress stalking her prey, I moved back and forth in front of him, getting nearer and nearer as I tossed the knife from hand to hand.

"Just fucking kill me!" he screamed again.

I moved in closer, slicing across his face from his nose to his lower jaw. He jerked his other arm up, and I cut his palm open. Blood ran down his arm.

"I loved you," he whimpered. "I thought you were the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. It wasn't fair that you loved them after they stole everything from my family."

"I could never care about you then or ever. I think you're disgusting," I hissed.

I moved in next to him. I couldn't listen to another word out of his mouth. I put the knife against his neck, our gazes locked. I saw the fear in his eyes. I slowly pulled the knife across his throat. His eyes bugged out, and he began to squirm, trying to push the knife away, but he was weak from blood loss, and I was stronger.

He began to gasp for air. I took a step back and sat on the desk as I watched him breathe his last breaths. As I saw the stark terror in his eyes.

"This is for taking me away from them, for locking me in a fucking cage, for feeding me food a dog wouldn't eat, for shaming me, for brainwashing me so that I would try to kill them."

He gurgled once, then twice. Blood and sputum ran from the side of his mouth, but I continued staring at the monster he was.

I felt an arm on my shoulder and looked up at Jude.

"He's gone, it's over."

"Let's go home," Ezra said.

I swiped at the tears running down my face. Not because he was dead but because of the emotional toll it had taken on me. I could finally breathe again, but taking revenge had drained me.

Caspian picked me up in his arms when I stumbled, and we went out the front door.

"It's over," he said.

I sighed and leaned my head against his chest. "Yes, it was finally over.